Question: Can desire ever be a positive force?

Sri Chinmoy: Before one accepts the life of aspiration, desire is good. In the beginning a person must have desire if he is going to make any progress at all. His desires will give him some dynamism. If he does not have any desires or any aspiration, then he will not budge an inch. He will be like a solid stone, making no progress at all. If he has desires, eventually he will find that there is no end to his desires, and no abiding satisfaction or fulfilment in them. Then he will try the world of aspiration. In the world of aspiration he will see that peace, light, bliss, power and all the divine qualities are ready to satisfy him both in his inner life and in his outer life.

In the outer life when we go through desire, it destroys us. We have to free ourselves from the fetters of ignorance. How? Through aspiration. When we have aspiration, we can free ourselves from bondage. When we feel this supreme necessity, then automatically desire begins to give place to aspiration. But when we think of giving up desire, we have to be careful not to misunderstand the concept of renunciation. What are we going to renounce? Not a person, not the world, but that which is disturbing us and not allowing us to grow into light and perfection. That thing is ignorance. We have to renounce ignorance, not our so-called desires. Outer desire is just a product of our ignorance. If we can put an end to ignorance, then we shall see that desire does not exist in us any more. At that time Peace, Light and Bliss from above will shower down on us.